2D3D competition guidelines

Eligibility

Participants must be enrolled in a public, private or parochial high school program that includes 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th grade, and must live in the United States.

Deadline

Because of popular demand, the 2D3D deadline has been extended by one week to midnight, Friday, February 6. But please upload your work before the last minute so that you'll have time to ask any potential questions or address any upload issues.

Juried Competition

The jury is made up of faculty members at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Each juror will be responsible for judging one of the four main categories that include Visual Arts, Design, Digital Arts, and Craft. Once the four category winners have been determined, the jurors will then review their work again, and vote on a ‘Best in Show’ winner.

Judging will be blind, so the jurors will not know the identities of the people who have entered the work.

2D3D Prizes

The top award in this competition is called ‘Best in Show,' and it includes a $2,500 cash prize. To qualify for ‘Best in Show,' a participant must first win one of the four ‘Best in Category’ awards. The four categories include Visual Arts, Design, Digital Arts, and Craft.

Also included as a prize when winning ‘Best in Category’ is an annual $10,000 scholarship at the Cleveland Institute of Art, which over four years totals $40,000. The $10,000 scholarships will be renewed annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at CIA as long as the recipient maintains a 3.0 cumulative GPA and remains enrolled full-time.

In addition, there will be four ‘Jury Merit Honorees,’ who will receive a $200 cash prize; and four runners-up, who will receive a $100 cash prize.

All teachers who have at least one student submit an entry into the Cleveland Institute of Art's 2D3D Art + Design Contest will be eligible and entered automatically into a random drawing for $1,000 worth of art supplies from Faber-Castell. Prizes can be selected from Faber-Castell’s Creative Studio brand and the Professional Art & Graphic brands.

Collaborative Projects

If a collaborative project wins an award with a cash prize, that award will be divided between the participants per instruction from the ‘lead participant.’ In regards to the annual $10,000 CIA scholarship, up to five students per ‘collaboration’ are eligible to win the $10,000 scholarship at one time. Collaborations beyond more than five students will require a review process on a case-by-case basis to see if CIA can issue additional scholarships.

Judging Criteria

The judging criteria will be based on originality and technical skill as defined below.

Originality: Artwork that is submitted should represent independent thought and imagination. It should be novel and distinctive in style and concept.

Technical Skill: To have a strong command and proficiency of an art medium (for example: graphite, digital arts, etc.). How it is applied to further the idea or originality of the artwork will be taken into consideration.

Copyright Release Form

Students cannot use copyrighted music in their work without the permission of the original artist. Review our Copyright Release Form, and follow the directions accordingly.

For additional guidelines on the use of copyrighted materials, visit this page on the Center for Media & Social Impact's website.

Appearance Release Form

In addition to the registration form, you must get the consent of any recognizable people in your work and submit an Appearance Release Form.

2D3D Artwork Usage Policy

Any original work(s) of art or other forms of intellectual property shall belong to the student(s) who created them. CIA and our sponsors reserve the right to photograph, reproduce, and use for display the works of art entered into the 2D3D competition for marketing and publicity of the 2D3D competition in the future.

As a condition of participation in the 2D3D competition, students give permission for photos of themselves to be used by CIA for marketing, publicity, or other related purposes if they should be one of the winners of a prize or honorary mention.

The Institute does not take responsibility for any original artwork associated with the 2D3D competition.

Video Entry Agreement Form

Students who submit work to the Video/Film category are required to complete the Video Entry Agreement Form (per video entry) and submit it along with their entry to the registration form.

Teacher Confirmation

Once you finish uploading your artwork, we will contact your teacher to confirm that you are their student.

Category Descriptions

Click on a category from the list below for category descriptions and examples.